Runaway
by Kiyoshi'sGirl64
Summary: Series of oneshots and/or songfics that tell bits and pieces of Anna's story that don't fall under the main storyline. I'm not going to pretend it will make any sense if you haven't read my story 'Runaway Train.' So...a series of bonus chapters for Anna.
1. Jeremy Matthews Runaway

**Runaway**

**Jeremy Matthews POV**

She will come back. Katsumi will come back. She has to. We have kids. She loves us. She loves me, and she loves Jake, and she loves Anna. It doesn't matter how angry she is at me. She'll come back for them. She loves them. They're her children.

Where could she have gone? Why would she run? I've given her everything she wanted? What reason is there for her to leave? I don't understand.

_As I walk along I wonder_  
_What went wrong with our love  
A love so rare and strong_

I remember the day we got married, how radiant she was. The day Jake was born, the day we got Anna.

She was always so happy. But in the last few years, every since Anna turned ten or so, she hasn't seemed so happy. The Katsumi I fell in love with has been disappearing for the last few years.

But I can forgive her for that. I still love her. I suppose the only thing I can do is wait for her to come home. She has to come home.

_And as I walk along I think of_  
_The times we had together  
When our hearts were young_

I look at my kids. They're so strong. Anna's only twelve, Jake thirteen. They don't deserve to have parents who throw things across the room at each other. They never did anything. They seem to understand what's going on, though. I'm not really sure how. They're just kids. How could they possibly understand the relationship I have with their mother?

Of course, I can't know for certain. Katsumi went out of her way to teach them Japanese, to make sure they knew her native language. Even after all these years, my knowledge of the language is still rather limited; I guess that's what happens when you try to learn a language as an adult. But when Jake and Anna don't want anyone to understand what they're saying, they speak Japanese. And even they are fluent enough that I have no hope of following their conversation.

And lately, they've been using Japanese a lot. Ever since their mother left.

Why would she leave? Could there be—no, Katsumi would never do that to me. She'd never do that to Jake, to Anna.

_I'm walking in the rain_  
_Tears are falling and I feel the pain  
Wishing you were here by me  
To end this misery and I wonder  
I wa wa wa wonder  
Why, why why why why why she ran away  
And I wonder where she will stay  
My little runaway, a run run run run runaway_

I know that some of my little habits bothered her. Some of hers irritated me. But that shouldn't be something that means our marriage has to end.

Where could she go? From the beginning, she's been a stay at home mom. That was her decision, so that can't be something she's blaming on me. She doesn't have a job to support herself, and she hasn't been using our joint bank account.

And I got the papers in the mail yesterday. Requesting a divorce. I signed them, simply because I believe it will make her happy. If that's what she thinks she wants, I'm okay with it. When she comes back, we can get married again, start all over.

When she comes back. Who is she staying with now?

"Daddy?" Anna asks. I look up from the papers on my desk. What was I working on? Jake is standing next to her.

"Yes, Anna? What do you to need?" I ask. I have to be there for them, even if I can barely support myself. I have to be strong for them until she comes back.

_I'm walking in the rain_  
_Tears are falling and I feel the pain  
Wishing you were here by me  
To end this misery and I wonder  
I wa wa wa wonder  
Why, why why why why why she ran away  
And I wonder where she will stay  
My little runaway, a run run run run runaway_

She looks at Jake. How can a twelve year old girl and a thirteen year old boy look so serious? Then Jake sighs and says, "Mom isn't coming back, Dad."

"What?" Yes she is. Of course she is. "Yes she is."

"No, Daddy," Anna says gently. "She's not. She's gone."

_A run run run run runaway_  
_A run run run run runaway_

* * *

Well, there you go. I'm aware that all the characters in this...er...chapter belong to me, but that's because it's the little bits and pieces I talked about in chapter fifty...four of 'Runaway Train.' So...that's the first of several. They will be posted as I see fit, so that I don't reveal something in this story that shouldn't be revealed until later in the main story.

How odd that Anna and the other characters in this story have gotten so strong. Odd that this story seems so...real.

This chapter was a songfic, obviously, the song being 'Runaway' by Gary Allan.

I will answer all reviews in my normal fashion. :D


	2. Earl Nelson Tell the Truth

**Tell the Truth**

**Earl Nelson POV**

The doorbell rings. "Could you get that?" Katsumi calls from our bedroom.

I walk down the stairs toward the front door. Oh, crap. I rush up behind Wendy. Why does she always answer the door? It's dangerous for her to do that. It would be so easy for someone to just grab her and take her away. "Wendy, what are you doing? We told you not to answer the door without one of us." I pat her shoulder, and she bounces off into the kitchen.

I look at the young woman standing in front of me. She has dark hair and dark eyes, her features almost a blend of Asian and Caucasian, very similar to Wendy's. "Yes?" I ask. She's so small. How old is she? How did she get here? I don't see a car, not that I'm entirely sure she's old enough to be driving alone.

"Earl Nelson?" she asks.

"Mm-hmm." How does she know who I am? What is she after? She isn't selling anything; I would have heard about that by now. So why is she here?

"Is Katsumi home?" Oh. Katsumi. She probably just forgot to tell me someone was visiting today.

I nod. "Come on in." I take her to the kitchen. Wendy stares up at her. Huh, they look so much alike. Ah well. "You can wait here. She's upstairs, I'll go get her. Who should I tell her wants to see her?"

"Anna. She'll know who I am." Hm. That's odd. It sounds as though they haven't seen each other in years. Yet she sought Katsumi out. What is going on? Is this girl a niece of hers or something? Her accent is strong; perhaps she moved here from Japan only recently.

I go up the stairs and grab Katsumi. "Who was at the door?" she asks mildly, brushing her hair.

"A teenage girl. She's in the kitchen and wants to see you. She says her name is Anna."

Katsumi freezes. "No. You're lying."

"No…why would I be lying?" What is there to lie about? The girl walked in and wanted to talk to her.

"Never mind." She stands and leaves the room. I follow. There is far more going on here than I understand at the moment.

She enters the kitchen and says, "Anna." She doesn't say anything else, but Anna seems to get a whole message from the one word.

She asks, "Why did you leave?" Leave where? When? She hasn't gone anywhere for a long time, not since Wendy was born.

"I didn't love him anymore." Love who? What's going on? How long ago are they talking?

"You were married to Earl less than three months later. I can do the math." Her tone is very accusing. But they're talking that long ago. We've been married seven years now. So this isn't something I need to worry too much about. But who did she leave.

Katsumi sighs. "I fell in love with Earl. Your father was never home. He didn't love me. Earl gets home every night, and he takes care of me!" I try my hardest. But did she say father? What's really going on here?

I don't have a chance to ask before the girl begins to get angry. "I was twelve. I remember everything. I wasn't some little kid whose memories you can mold to fit your purposes, your agenda." Suddenly she is shouting at Katsumi in Japanese, so loudly that Wendy runs to me and hugs my legs. Dear God, please don't let her use any language Wendy doesn't need to be hearing, no matter what the language.

Katsumi just screams right back, easily switching to Japanese. I pick up a few words I understand, but not enough to be able to understand what she's saying. She shouts the girl's name, and silence falls over the room.

Then the girl begins to whisper. After she finishes speaking, Katsumi's face is completely shocked. Suddenly the girl, Anna, turns to me. She's addressing me, now speaking English as though the Japanese never passed her lips, "Take care of Wendy. With a mother like that, she'll need it."

What is she saying? Katsumi is a good mother. She takes good care of Wendy. "Don't talk about my wife that way," I warn her.

She nods and replies simply, "I wasn't talking about your wife. I was talking about my mother." What? Anna is Katsumi's daughter? What's happening? Katsumi said she left Anna's father… The girl turns to my wife and says, "I stopped thinking of you as my mother long ago. This was just the closure I needed. Goodbye Katsumi." Then she turns on her heel and walks out the door.

When I finally find my voice, I ask, "What is she talking about, Katsumi? What does she mean you're her mother? You're Wendy's mother."

Katsumi just looks at me. Her eyes aren't quite sad, but they aren't expressionless either. Regretful, perhaps. "I got married when I was eighteen," she answers. "Eighteen. That's too young to plan a life. I was pregnant three months later. Then eleven months after Jake was born, Anna came. I met you when I was starting to realize that I never really loved Jeremy like I thought I did. In fact, I resented him. I resented him and Anna and Jake for taking my life from me. When you came along…you were kind to me. And then you asked me to marry you…so I divorced him. I have only rarely thought about any of them since. I don't know where Jake or Jeremy may be. I had no idea Anna would ever come to see me. And honestly, it pisses me off that she did."

She doesn't look to angry. She doesn't even look regretful anymore. "It pisses you off?" I whisper. "What about me, Kat? What about Wendy? I have two stepchildren I have never seen before today, Wendy has a half-sister and a half-brother. How could you not tell me something like this? How could you not tell me that the entire time we were dating you were married to another man?"

"I love you, Earl. Why does it matter how we got here? I love you, and I love Wendy, and that's all that matters."

"Tell the truth, Katsumi. Can I ever trust you again?"

* * *

So, there's the next chapter/oneshot. I felt like this chapter was important to understanding Runaway Train because I never felt like Earl was a bad guy, but I also felt like he was portrayed a bit that way. I don't know when the next part of this story is coming, but it could very well be Katsumi's take on this bit. This story...it's going to be very, very odd, I'll tell you that.


	3. Katsumi Nelson Hauntings

**Hauntings**

**Katsumi Nelson**

As I pull on my shirt, the doorbell rings. "Could you get that?" I call to Earl. I hear him go down the stairs, and I continue getting ready. I hear him talking to someone. Who could be at the door now? It's nine on a Saturday morning. He walks back into the room as I brush my hair. "Who was at the door?" I ask. Does it really matter? The conversation didn't last very long. It must not be too important.

"A teenage girl. She's in the kitchen and wants to see you. She says her name is Anna."

Anna. No. No. "No. You're lying." He has to be lying. But I've never told him about Anna or Jake or Jeremy. It's been years since I've heard those names. I hardly think about them anymore. I have Earl and Wendy now. That's all I need.

"No…" he says, sounding unsure of himself. "Why would I be lying?"

I shake my head. "Never mind." I get up and leave the room, and he follows me down the stairs.

I enter the room. A small girl stairs across the room at me. Wendy is looking at her like she has a new best friend. No. She can't steal my daughter from me. "Anna."

"Why did you leave?" she demands. Why did you come here is a better question.

"I didn't love him anymore." I'm not sure I ever loved him. I thought I did, but as Anna and Jake grew older, I realized that there was something missing. And I met Earl, and I felt something I'd never felt before.

"You were married to Earl less than three months later. I can do the math." She nearly spits the words at me.

I sigh. Anna could never understand. She has never been tied to a man who she doesn't really love. "I fell in love with Earl. Your father was never home. He didn't love me. Earl gets home every night, and he takes care of me!" Jeremy wasn't in love with me anymore.

Anna's face is a scowl like I've never seen before. This is bad. She always did have a habit of bottling it all up and exploding. And who knows how long she's been bottling this up. "I was twelve. I remember everything. I wasn't some little kid whose memories you can mold to fit your purposes, your agenda." All of a sudden, it's no longer English she's speaking. And she's speaking Japanese so quickly and fluently she has to have been in Japan for a while, and recently. "You are selecting details. He _occasionally_ missed dinner. He _occasionally_ had to go out of town for work. He was _occasionally_ too tired to kiss you when he got home. It wasn't him. It wasn't ever him. It was always you." Wendy's eyes are wide. Earl looks surprised, but I know he doesn't understand all of what she said. Japanese is a difficult language to learn. Then Wendy runs to Earl and grabs onto his legs.

I hardly hear myself scream back, "So what if that's true? Is it a crime to leave a man you don't love in order to be with the man you do love? Is it, Anna?"

There is silence. I've finally gotten through to her. But she then whispers, "No. It's not a crime. But when you left him, you abandoned your daughter and son too. That…that's not a crime. It's just a downright bitchy thing to do." She really just said that? What? The Anna I knew never would have…how much has she changed? How much have I missed. She turns to Earl and says in English, "Take care of Wendy. With a mother like that, she'll need it."

His eyes narrow, the first signs of anger. Not that he ever gets truly angry. Then he says, "Don't talk about my wife that way."

She nods. "I wasn't talking about your wife. I was talking about my mother." Shock covers his face, and I can hardly concentrate on what she's saying. "I stopped thinking of you as my mother long ago. This was just the closure I needed. Goodbye Katsumi." And she's gone. How is she allowed to do that? How can she just walk in and uproot my life like this? It's not fair.

After a long silence, Earl says, "What is she talking about, Katsumi? What does she mean you're her mother? You're Wendy's mother."

I look at him. What do I say? "I got married when I was eighteen. Eighteen," I say. "That's too young to plan a life. I was pregnant three months later. Then eleven months after Jake was born, Anna came. I met you when I was starting to realize that I never really loved Jeremy like I thought I did. In fact, I resented him. I resented him and Anna and Jake for taking my life from me. When you came along…you were kind to me. And then you asked me to marry you…so I divorced him. I have only rarely thought about any of them since. I don't know where Jake or Jeremy may be." Neither do I particularly care. "I had no idea Anna would ever come to see me. And honestly, it pisses me off that she did." And my stupidity when I was young is haunting me now in the form of Anna.

"It pisses you off?" he whispers. "What about me, Kat? What about Wendy? I have two stepchildren I have never seen before today, Wendy has a half-sister and a half-brother. How could you not tell me something like this? How could you not tell me that the entire time we were dating you were married to another man?"

"I love you, Earl. Why does it matter how we got here? I love you, and I love Wendy, and that's all that matters."

"Tell the truth, Katsumi. Can I ever trust you again?" Without waiting for an answer, he turns and leaves but not before picking Wendy up and taking her with him. I hear the front door open and close.

* * *

Sorry this one is so close to the last. It just seemed important, somehow.

animegrlsteph: I can't wait until I can post the chapter I'm writing from Jake's point of view. It's a lot of fun...kind of.


	4. Shizuru Kuwabara Behind Closed Doors

**Behind Closed Doors**

**Shizuru Kuwabara POV**

I watch as Anna pulls Kurama off to their room. She was serious then. Huh. I knew this was coming soon, the way they've been acting. Just…never would have thought that it would come this soon after Anna admitting she loved him. It's been, what, a month?

Ah well. I guess it can't really be stopped. Just…what on earth is Kurama up to? He has been acting weird ever since he borrowed my computer. I remember because, well, him borrowing my computer was weird to begin with. Then when he began acting odd, I checked my browser history. He visited a bunch of different travel sites and a missing persons web page for the United States. I really want to know what's going on with him. Travel sites, missing persons… What could he possibly be planning?

Suddenly Yusuke comes up to me, half drunk. "Where's Kurama?" he asks. He points to the nearest corner. "He was right there thirty seconds ago. And Anna's been walking around all night. Now I don't see her either."

I stare at him. "Maybe Hiei knows." I try not to lie to my friends, but he doesn't really need to know what's going on with Anna and Kurama right now. The likelihood that Hiei will actually say anything is also not very high. But if he does…I'm not responsible for telling anyone. Anna just asked me to keep people away from their room.

Why she would do something on a _Saturday_, when everyone is here, I cannot imagine.

Yusuke grabs me and drags me to the corner where Hiei is sitting. Why does he need my help for this? Oh yeah, he's drunk. He's not thinking clearly. I'm not drunk. Which is unfortunate. That one's not exactly normal. I wish I hadn't promised Anna. I can't drink if I want to be sure of keeping them all away.

We reach Hiei, and Yusuke asks, "Where'd Kurama go?" Hiei shrugs, so Yusuke says, "Come on, Hiei. I know you know. You just don't want to tell me."

"And if that's true?" he asks. "All it means is that I want you to leave me alone."

"Just tell me, and I'll leave."

"Anna kissed him then dragged him down the hall."

"What's down the hall?" Oh dear god. Yusuke is the pervert. Shouldn't he have this figured out, even drunk?

"Their bedroom."

"But it's early. It's only midnight." Hiei stares at him like he's an idiot. Probably true. Then Yusuke's eyes go wide. "Nuh-uh." Hiei stares. "No way. Kurama? No way."

Hiei stands. "You're an idiot, just like him. Why he'd let himself do something so stupid I don't understand." Hiei glares.

"You just need to get laid," Atsuko shouts from a few feet away. "Maybe you'd be in a better mood sometimes, Hiei."

Oh god, Atsuko. Do you want Hiei to massacre us all? Hiei just glares at her for a few seconds. Then he stalks out of the room. The door slams. Well, no one died at least.

Yusuke moves to go down the hall. I grab the back of his shirt. "Uh-uh. Mind your own business, Yusuke."

"Not my fault he chose to make his move when everyone was here."

"Not Kurama," I correct. "Anna. And you are not going to ruin this for them. You try again, and I will make sure you feel a lot of pain. If Anna and Kurama don't torture and kill you first."

"They wouldn't do that," Yusuke answers, waving his hand.

I glare. Anna made me promise. Why would she do this tonight? So _stupid_. "Kurama probably wouldn't. He'd just kill you. Anna…don't try and tell me she wouldn't go for the whole torture bit if it suited her needs at the time."

He's silent. Then he walks away and gets another drink.

* * *

Ummm...well there isn't really much to say about this chapter. :) I think we'll just leave it at that. Sorry it was so short.


	5. Anna Can't Take My Eyes Off You

**Anna POV**

_I know that the bridges that I've burned_

I pull him closer. I've made mistakes. I wondered if this would be a mistake, giving myself to him like this. But it's not. I gave up a lot of things to get away from my past. All of it led me here, to Kurama.

_Along the way_

I trace the contours of his nicely-but-not-overly-defined chest with my finger as he strokes my hair. I sigh and close my eyes.

_Have left me with these walls and these scars_

It's hard not to compare it to…but that time it was almost frantic, as though our lives depended on it. No, Anna! Quit thinking about that. Don't ruin the moment. He can't hurt you again.

_That won't go away_

But with Kurama…the passion was there. But it was so much sweeter somehow. Maybe it's the fact that he actually loves me. The fact that he isn't just using me.

_And opening up has always been the hardest thing_

And I never felt like I could tell anyone the truth about myself. No one back in America would have believed in the ghosts and the demons. I was already the weird foster kid who hated everyone. Why would I make it worse by making them think I was crazy? Even Jake was skeptical of all the supernatural stuff. I could tell by the way he looked at my books.

_Until you came_

But now I have Kurama. I don't have to pretend with him. There's just me and him. No one else matters. What happened in the past doesn't matter. What anyone else may think of us doesn't matter. It's just us.

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

He is so warm. "I love you Kurama," I whisper.

_This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known_

"Not as much as I love you," he whispers, brushing his lips across my forehead.

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

"Don't even start that with me, Kurama," I answer. I open my eyes to look into his green ones. He is so handsome. So wonderful.

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

"You're beautiful, Anna," he whispers. "I've never seen anything that could compare."

_I love when you tell me that I'm pretty_

Hopeless. Romantic. But I like it that he's saying this. He doesn't have to. He could just go to sleep. "So are you," I answer.

_When I just wake up_

He gives me a crooked grin. "Thanks. I think."

_And I love how you tease me when I'm moody_

I hit him on the shoulder but not hard. "You know what I meant," I say. He slides his arm beneath my neck so that his arm is around my shoulders.

_But it's never too much_

"Yes," he admits. "I knew what you meant." With a completely straight face he puts his forehead to mine and whispers, "That's why I thanked you."

_I'm falling fast and the truth is I'm not scared at all_

I love him so much. For the past five years, I've been doing my best to avoid getting close to people. But now I'm too far gone. I am completely and totally in love with him. But I'm not afraid of getting hurt.

_You climbed my walls_

"Kurama?" I ask. "Thanks for not giving up."

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

"What do you mean?" he asks quietly. He is lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling and gently rubbing my shoulder.

_This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known_

"I kept telling you to go away," I answer. "But you wouldn't. You wouldn't leave me alone. And some part of me wanted you to keep trying. All of me is happy that you didn't give up on me."

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

"I could never give up on you, Anna," he says quietly, sounding sleepy. "I love you too much. I haven't figured out what it is about you that evokes this kind of emotion in me. I don't even know how it's possible that one person can be so completely vital to my existence. But all the same, it's true. I love you, Anna, with all my heart."

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

"Kurama," I tell him. "I'm cold."

_Off you, off you_

He reaches across himself and me to pull the blanket tighter around us. Then he pulls me closer and whispers, "Is that better?" I nod into his shoulder and wrap my arm around his stomach, holding him tight. I will never let him go.

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

If I die now, I would die happy. If time can just freeze and we can stay here, like this, until the end of time, that would be fine with me. Just as long as he doesn't let go.

_Oh.. this feelin I'm feelin is somethin' I've never known_

"I love you," he whispers. His eyes drift shut, his breathing deepens and steadies, and his hand stops rubbing my shoulder. He loves me. And I love him, more than I could have ever imagined it is possible to love someone.

_And I just can't take my eyes of you_

I feel his chest rise and fall beneath my arm, and I watch a strand of his hair flutter every time he breathes in or out. I rest my head on his chest and get as close to him as I can. Then I close my eyes, and the rhythmic sound of…his breathing…lulls me…to…

_And I just can't take my eyes of you_

* * *

Well, the name of the song is 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' by Lady Antebellum. I own Anna and now to reviews!

animegrlsteph: He did figure it out. Just a lot less quickly. My favorite part is actually Atsuko's comment...

DarlingAngelthewriter: Haha, thanks. And about Anna's mother...agreed. I really don't like her. At all. In case you couldn't tell.


	6. Jacob Matthews Holy Water

**Holy Water**

**Jake POV**

Why can't I do anything to help her, damn it? All the light has gone from her eyes. She used to be such a happy person. But now…

She used to sing all the time. For a couple of months after Dad died, the music died too. But this…this is different. It's been nearly six months since that bastard broke her heart. I tried to be there for her, but it's like she's floating around in a haze of nothingness. She almost seems to be going on autopilot.

It's odd. She isn't heartbroken in the sense that she believes he might really love her. If anything she was happy when I went after him and beat him within an inch of his worthless life. She genuinely resents him. It's just…our mother…Dad's death…leaving all her friends…foster care, being transferred from place to place, with no sense of permanency until now…That's too much for anyone to handle, let alone a fifteen year old. And now this…

She's been hurt so many times. I guess this was just the last time. The straw that broke the camel's back. The hurt that broke my sister's spirit.

Anna…it's killing me inside to see you like this. She goes to school, she does what's expected of her, but it's done unthinkingly, emotionlessly. She no longer cares.

And it's killing me that I can't help her.

**Six months later…**

Anna…why would you do a stupid thing like that? Why would you swallow so many damn pills?

Did you think you had nothing to live for? What would make you think that?

That bastard Connor still? Why can't you get over him?

Or did someone else do something to hurt you? Why don't you talk to me anymore, Anna? I could help you.

"I'll kill whoever made you feel you needed to do this, Anna."

"You already are." She closes her eyes and falls asleep. What's she mean by that?

_Somewhere there's a stolen halo  
__I used to watch her wear it well  
__Everything would shine wherever she would go  
__But looking at her now you'd never tell_

**Seven months later…**

Where is Anna? I haven't seen her lately… "Hey Maria," I call. "Where's Anna?"

She flies into the room…what's got her moving so fast? Then she slaps me across the face. "Jacob Dustin Matthews!"

"What was that for?"

She collapses onto the couch…why's she crying? "Have you…have you really not noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"Jake…dear god…I knew about the drugs…they told us you might relapse when you came to us…I knew we didn't succeed in stopping you from…but have you really been so out of it that you haven't noticed?" Noticed what? I stare at her blankly. She shakes her head. "Jake…Anna disappeared two months ago."

"Disappeared?" Anna can't disappear. She's the one constant in my life. She stayed when no one else did. She's been with me through it all.

"Yes. No one's seen her since. You don't remember any of it?" She sounds…tired. Does Maria always sound like this? How much have I been missing?

But…I remember talking to the police. I remember they were frustrated. I think they thought…they thought I had something to do with it. But only because I was doing everything I possibly could to piss them off…was that when Anna disappeared? It must've been…

Maybe she left because of me. Is that why? Are the drugs why? She said I was already killing the person who made her want to kill herself.

Did she mean me?

Did she leave because of the drugs?

Yeah…probably.

If I get clean will my baby sister come back?

Clean. _Clean_. It's been four years since I could last say that.

And…I don't regret getting clean, even though the result wasn't what I hoped for. The fog is gone. But that just leaves me with the fact that, when Anna needed me most, I abandoned her.

I thought she might come back if I got sober. But now I see that that was the drugs talking. Ironic that it made me get rid of them.

The only thing is…Mark and Maria are convinced she was taken. I know better.

She left.

She didn't feel like anything here was worth it anymore. So she left it all behind.

She left.

And I doubt she'll ever come back.

_Someone ran away with her innocence_  
_A memory she can't get out of her head  
And I can only imagine what she's feeling when she's praying  
Kneeling at the edge of her bed_

**Two and a half years later…**

The doorbell chimes. I sigh. I better get it. Mark and Maria aren't home. I get up, walk to the door and open it.

Wait—no—huh? "Anna!"

She hugs me. She hasn't changed much since she left. Well, she doesn't look much different. "You smell clean, Jake." It takes me a minute to translate. Why on earth is she speaking Japanese? We only spoke Japanese when we didn't want anyone else to hear. I haven't used it since she left. God, why is it the first language out of her mouth?

"You see me for the first time in more than two years and the first thing you comment on is how I smell?" My answer comes slowly, the words strange in my mouth.

"Jake…" She pulls away and looks at me seriously.

I take a step back, keeping a hold of her hands. Wait…what are those—oh, Anna. Not again. "Okay, I suppose I deserved that. But you obviously have some explaining to do too." She nods. "I have a good guess of why you left, so that's not what I'm talking about. _This_ is what I'm talking about." I flip her arms over, revealing the true extent of the scars. They're worse than I thought. Anna…I thought getting away from me was supposed to make you better.

"Oh. That." How can she sound so uninterested? "I'll tell you once you've let me in and explained what you've been doing for the last two and a half years."

I smile. You know what, it doesn't matter that she tried to kill herself. That's behind us. All that matters is that she's alive to come back. "Okay," I reply. "I missed you, Anna. Just one question: why is Japanese the first language you address me in? Is English really too much to ask?"

She shakes her head, grinning slightly. When she switches back to English, it comes much more fluidly than my broken Japanese. "I got excited and forgot I was in America again. I've been in Japan for the last six months."

What? I shake my head. Only Anna could manage to travel halfway around the globe just to run away from home. "Only you, Anna. No one else could have run away and ended up on the other side of the world."

"Shut up." After a short silence, she asks, "When did you get clean, Jake? And why?"

_And she says take me away then take me farther_  
_Surround me now  
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water  
Like holy water_

"I'm in love with this guy. Kurama." She hands me a photo of a kid trying not to laugh. Red hair and green eyes that look strangely out of place on his Asian face. "But I was scared because I really haven't had that many relationships where I didn't get hurt. Then I was confused and angry…suicide crossed my mind again about a month ago. But I stopped myself."

Again. But…she's never stopped before. By the sound of the things, the second attempt was the same as the first: suicide is an escape, bam, done. "You're making progress. Who do I need to thank?"

"Kurama. Shizuru. Yusuke. Yukina. Botan. But mostly Kurama."

So many people who care about her… "Okay, what's the phone number?"

"You were serious?" I nod. Of course I was serious. Why wouldn't I want to thank the people who saved Anna's life? "You can't. Only Shizuru knows I came back to America."

"Why didn't you tell the others?"

"I had to fight these battles alone." Oh, Anna. Why do you have to be so damn stubborn all the time? But she said battles. Not battle.

"Plural." She doesn't look too pleased that I noticed.

"I didn't know you got clean, so I wasn't looking forward to seeing you. Sorry." I can't very well blame her for that. I wouldn't have wanted to see me either. "Then I had to apologize to Evan." Who? "I had to fight Connor on my own. I confronted our mother." She says the last two things very fast. I guess she doesn't want to have a big, long conversation about how stupid she was to go seek out that son of a bitch.

"And then you came here." I hug her. "I'm glad you're back, Anna. If only for a short time."

"How'd you know I'm not staying?"

Anna, you little fool. "You said you love him." The way it all sounds…I think there's a good chance that relationship could work. But if it falls apart and leaves Anna like she was the last time…he better pray to God I don't find him. And if it leaves her worse…he won't need to be praying. He better just straight up make peace with his maker.

_She wants someone to call her angel_  
_Someone to put the light back in her eyes  
She looking through the faces and unfamiliar places  
She needs someone to hear her when she cries_

**Four months later…**

The doorbell rings, and I get up. I open the door to find green eyes looking at me from beneath a mess of red hair. Green and red that are surprisingly familiar. "Jake," he says after a moment.

He's slightly shorter than me, but he's still taller than I thought he would be. Still almost a foot taller than Anna. I smile. "So you're the fox, then. Where's my sister?" Where is Anna? She wouldn't let him come to America without her, would she? Or is she mad at me for some reason? I gesture him through the door.

"Japan."

What? She really isn't here? I turn to face him. "You came without her?" Why does my voice sound so accusing? "Why?" What happened? What would make it so Anna can't come with him? Oh dear god, please don't let her have succeeded in killing herself.

But he doesn't look upset, and she said he loves her. Calm, Jake. You're overreacting. In fact, he just looks confused. Finally he says, "It's kind of…I grew up in a time when…" How old did she say he was? Forget it, I don't care. He's old. "You're her closest male blood relative."

What's he getting at? "So?"

"I wanted your permission to ask Anna to marry me." He says it with such a straight face I believe him immediately.

That's what he was referencing when he mentioned when he grew up. Women had no rights. "You're asking me to give my sister away?"

"Yes." He nods as he says it, but I can also see that it is nothing more than a formality. He'd still ask her, even if I didn't approve. And I respect him for that. His asking me is merely him showing that he respects me as well.

I shake my head. He's got to be kidding. I have to try not to laugh. I may respect him, but does he honestly believe I have any say at all in what Anna does or does not do? "That's up to Anna. If she wants to marry you, she can marry you. I could stop hellfire easier'n I could stop Anna. Just…" The singing. The singing wasn't back when she came here. Anna isn't Anna until she starts singing again.

"Just what?" he asks.

"Just I may not be able to stop her, but I will fight you two getting married if she's not singing."

"What do you mean?"

She's not singing, then. I can't sit back passively then. I sigh. But how do I explain? "Our dad would go around singing. Anna would too, but she never realized she was singing. Don't lie to me, Kurama. Is she singing again?"

"Yes," he says. "But why is it so important?" I guess he's telling the truth. If he was lying, I doubt he would have asked that question.

Connor. "She stopped singing after Connor." Why'd she have to stop singing? Why? "I haven't heard her sing since. The drugs, part of it was the fact that I was young and stupid." Still am, come to think of it. "The other part was I thought they might help me escape the silence." And we saw how well all that worked out. I made everything worse. Of course, she left because of the drugs. And in a very roundabout way that led her to this kid, who is making her happier than I've ever seen her. "They didn't, but I was addicted by the time I realized that. As long as she's singing, you can marry her with no objections from me. You can even have my—I feel so weird saying this, but you're the one asking for permission—you can have my blessing." That just sounds so old-fashioned. I guess that's what I get for having a sister who wants to marry a guy from the eight hundreds. He just laughs. Just one more thing. "But…"

"But?" he asks.

"If she ever stops singing because of you, it had better be because you're dead, understand?" He doesn't so much as blink as I continue, "If you're not dead, I will rip out your entrails piece by piece, burn them and feed the crisps to the crows in my backyard." I will too, even if I get charged with murder. Anna is worth that.

"Thanks, Jake." How can he sound so sincere? He…wants Anna protected just as badly as I do.

I chuckle. Anna will always have someone to protect her. Good. "After that comment, I'm not too worried you'll hurt her on purpose, but the promise still stands. Now…can you tell me about my sister?" I haven't seen Anna, the real Anna, for almost five years now.

"Huh?"

"My sister, my Anna, hasn't been seen since that bastard broke her heart," I explain, looking down at my hands. "Somehow, though, you found her. You brought my Anna back from the dead."

He smiles. "That's the other thing I came to talk to you about. I need your help giving Anna her Christmas present."

Christmas was a month ago. Is Anna marrying a crazie? Well, if she is that'll make three of us I suppose. "Christmas?"

"For Christmas I promised to either bring her to you or bring you to her." Suddenly he pulls out what looks like a pair of plane tickets. "I came here alone. But I have two tickets back. I was hoping you'd take one of them."

Is he serious? He's taking me to see Anna? "Seriously?" I whisper.

He nods. "The only condition is this: I intend to propose as soon as we get there. You can't see her until after she's given me an answer. I don't want her to say yes just because I brought her big brother halfway around the world." Just? But he makes a good point. I don't want to become a bribe that makes Anna do something she doesn't want to do.

"I can still see her if she says no?"

"Of course." He really does love her.

I stick out my hand. When he takes it, I pull him into a hug. "You make Anna as happy as I've ever seen her. And between you and me, based on how she talked about you, the way she looked at your picture, things she's said in emails…the likelihood that she'll say no is about one in ten million." And that one would be that she doesn't like the concept of having to conform to society's norms. If given half the chance, she will spend the rest of her life with him. And I'm a little jealous of him for it. He has a power I no longer possess, the power to light up Anna's eyes and make her sing.

How I miss her.

_And she says take me away then take me farther_  
_Surround me now  
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water_  
_Like holy water_

**Around ten the next morning…**

I finish packing and go to Anna's room. That's where Mark and Maria had him stay last night. They're absolutely thrilled. I just pray I wasn't lying when I more or less told him she was guaranteed to say yes. "You ready to go already?" he asks. Before I can answer, his eyes begin to stray around the room. They land on the bookshelf.

All those books on the supernatural. I always suspected they weren't entirely fiction. I always suspected Anna knew that because she shared something with all of them. "She always believed. She never once claimed to have a sixth sense, to be able to sense ghosts or anything, but I knew. How strong is her sense, Kurama?" I ask.

"All I know is that she can feel the difference between the human energy my body emits and the demonic energy my spirit emits." He sighs but smiles, remembering something. "She really hated me at first. She didn't trust me, said I was one of the Pretenders."

"Pretenders?" That sounds vaguely familiar. Perhaps that's something Anna mentioned while I was…on drugs. Not exactly sure which ones it might have been.

"People who pretend to care." There is a moment of hesitation, then he says, "Jake, my tickets are for a plane that departs from New York. We have time to make a little detour on the way there, if we leave now."

"Detour?" What is he talking about?

"I have a few choice words to say to Connor." He has got to be crazy.

"I'll try to keep you from killing him." Of course, he'll be lucky if I don't try to kill him.

"Somehow," he answers, "I don't think that will be necessary. Anna said he was the second best thing that ever happened to her."

"How could she possibly say that?" We walk out the door. What could Anna possibly be thinking, saying something like that? How could she _possibly_…?

"She told me that she would have been able to handle your drug usage if her heart hadn't been broken, and I believe it." I believe it too. "Especially since you might not have been on drugs at all if her heart hadn't been broken. But her running away eventually led her to Japan and what she says is the best thing that ever happened. At first I thought she just meant leaving the country, but now…" He stops. Heh. He doesn't want to sound conceited.

I nod. "You are what she meant by that, Kurama," I assure him. "I know it. So you intend to spare his life because without him you wouldn't have met Anna?" He nods, so I say, "Crazy, but whatever works to keep murder off the table. And I'll be there to stop you if worst comes to worst." Maybe.

**That night…**

"Kurama," I ask. He reaches out and turns the radio off. "You said something about emitting energy. What did you mean?" I don't understand it all. The energy thing…it's always been beyond me. I've read several of Anna's books, but I still can't grasp it.

"Well, everyone emits something called aura. It's your spiritual energy," he replies. "It's that force that people with a sixth sense can detect."

"That's it?" Nothing more? "But that seems so…simple. What about your plants?" Anna tried to explain that to me. That just…confused me.

"Well, my plants goes into the idea of controlling your aura, using that spiritual force that is unique as a fingerprint to affect the physical environment. That is more difficult than sensing the aura itself." His answer is matter-of-fact. This is such an everyday thing to him, it is no longer interesting.

"Can Anna…?" Would it make anything different if she could? I doubt it.

He groans. "Anna…I don't think she can. But when she really wants something or really needs something, her energy helps her out. This kind of unconscious control is something I've never seen before. Unless she's lying to me—"

No. Anna hates liars. That's where I've heard that phrase before! When we were little, Anna never said _liar_. She said _Pretender_. "Anna doesn't lie. She doesn't tell the whole truth, she'll even admit she's not telling the whole story, but I don't recall ever hearing her tell an outright lie."

He nods. "Okay. Well…I don't really understand Anna. Demons are classified by power, D being the least powerful and moving up to A. I won't confuse you with the issue of S-class."

"What are you?" If he says D…I'm honestly going to be upset.

"A."

Oh. Oh. "Good. More than capable of taking care of my sister."

"That's the thing," he answers. "She doesn't need it. I said when she wants or needs something, her energy helps her achieve it. That extends to protection, evasion, avoidance, you name it. And even though she can't control it consciously, her spirit is so strong that, when she wants something badly enough, her aura can be stronger than mine."

"You serious?" I ask. He nods, confirming his statement. Anna, you're crazy. "Damn. Only Anna could manage to have that much…aura while having no idea how to control it. This exit. Could she be taught?"

"Yes, but god forbid that happen," He answers. Anna being more capable of protecting herself is a bad thing? He goes on, "Your sister doesn't have the best track record as far as controlling her temper goes."

I can't help but laugh. "You're telling me. I grew up with it. Of course, it wasn't that bad until after Dad died. But don't say _your sister_ like that. You're the one who wants to marry her."

"Very good point."

He goes to get out, but I stop him, asking, "How much did she tell you about Connor, Kurama?"

"Not much," he answers. "But I've pieced it together, more or less. I want to make him regret ever going near Anna."

We ask the manager for the apartment number, and then head up two flights of stairs. We reach the third floor, and he says, "I don't think I'll have any trouble not killing him, but if I do…any evidence will so thoroughly bewilder the police…"

"I understand. I'm here to try and talk you out of anything completely stupid." I'm almost shouting to be heard above the music coming from the apartment.

He knocks and replies, "Exactly."

Connor answers the door, a young girl hanging onto his arm. He's stronger than last time. Not that that really means much, as weak and cowardly as he was. "I guess he worked hard to bulk up after getting beat up by a girl. I doubt she could take him now."

"Jake," Connor spits at me. "It's been a while. Who's your friend? Aw, hell, it doesn't matter. Neither of you were invited."

He starts to slam the door, but Kurama stops him. "Too bad. We're crashing." He forces his way in, and I follow. "On second thought, we're ending this." Then he shouts, "Everyone out!"

A couple of people glance at him, but no one leaves. A look suggestive of internal debate crosses his face, then he walks across the room. There is a crack like a gunshot, and suddenly vines are growing from every crevice of the surround sound system. Damn, Anna wasn't kidding. A few people duck, and they all spin to look at him. In the time it would take me to blink, he is quite a bit taller, silver haired, with ears and a tail. Trust Anna to fall in love with someone who could do that. "I said out." He turns to Connor. "Except you. I need to speak with you."

The room clears in an instant. "Who the hell are you?" Connor asks.

"You can call me Kurama." His answer is quite calm. "Anna is my girlfriend."

"What is with her, damn it?" he asks. He turns to me. "You beat me to a bloody pulp, then she came after me herself, and now this joker? What's she going to do next, sic Toto on me?" He's probably right in suggesting that Toto could win a fight between the two of them.

I reply, "Maybe, if there's anything left for her to sic Toto on. I'm supposed to keep Kurama from murdering you, but right now you're making it rather difficult for me to see any advantages to that." I knew I wouldn't be able to stop Kurama. I hate this kid too much.

Connor turns to Kurama and says, "No way this freak could kill me. He looks like a cat."

"Fox. A fox with twelve hundred years of violence backing it. Now listen carefully." The vines are moving next to him. Yeah, someone remind me to never get on Kurama's bad side. "I could kill you without moving from this spot, understand?"

"Yeah, right," he mutters. "Prove it."

The plants lash out and pin him to the floor. He winces as the two of them dig painfully into his wrists. Kurama goes on, completely calm, "If you ever go near another underage girl again, I will know." I don't know if that's true, but he sure as hell sounds convincing. "If I ever discover you've done so, I will kill you on behalf of Anna and all the other girls you have hurt. If I kill you, there will be no evidence linking the crime to me." I know all of that is true.

He pulls out a long vine, holding it in his hand like a…a whip. No…I'm supposed to try and keep this from getting too violent. I don't much care if he kills him, but I don't think I could stomach any real torture. "What are you doing, Kurama?"

"Just making sure that when he's sober he knows that this was not a dream or a hallucination. I won't let it hurt for too long." Kurama moves slightly, the whip flashes out, and Connor's finger comes off. There is a piercing shriek. Kurama simply pulls a small bottle from his sleeve and rubs a bit of the contents on the wound. I watch as the wound heals itself. Good god. The vines let Connor go, and Kurama says, "Be careful with that hand. It'll be a bit tender for a few days."

And he leaves. I follow him to the top of the stairs, where I find him back in his human disguise. "Think I scared him sufficiently?"

"Oh yeah," I mutter, shaking my head. "He was always a coward. Probably why he goes after young girls."

As we're entering the highway, I find myself asking, "Kurama…don't take this the wrong way…I just don't want Anna to get hurt…but after Connor…are you two sleeping together yet?" It's not really my business, but I have to keep Anna safe.

"Well…in the very literal sense of those words, we have been almost since we started dating."

"I'm serious, Kurama."

He sighs. "I don't know how to answer that question, Jake. I don't want to lie, since Anna trusts and loves you so completely. I want to show you the respect you deserve for being so important to Anna. How am I supposed to answer that, Jake?"

So they have slept together. Okay. I can live with that. I'm not exactly surprised. Anna is a big girl. She can make her own decisions. I nod. "I understand. And, well, Anna's an adult and very much her own person. She can make her own decisions, and I'm not in any position to lecture her on decision-making skills." Not when I was on drugs for four years. "But whenever you two sleep together, if you haven't already, make sure she knows you don't intend to leave." Shock crosses his face.

"Damn it," he mutters. "Damn it, how could I be so _stupid_?"

"Kurama," I ask. "What did you do?" What did he do to my sister?

"Something really, undeniably, unbelievably stupid," he answers as the car suddenly accelerates. "Just pray that Anna listens to Shizuru more than I did." Kurama, I am going to kill you.

_She just needs a little help  
__To wash away the pain she's felt  
__She wants to feel the healing hands  
__Of someone who understands_

We pull up to a massive temple, and he jumps up, bolting towards the front doors. I climb out, pop the trunk and follow him. He better be hurrying. If anything has happened to Anna because of what he did, I am going to kill him.

I wander blindly through the temple, trying to find my way.

"Good luck finding her," I hear a woman's voice mutter. "She went into the forest a few days ago."

"What do I do?" Kurama asks, sounding worried.

"Not much you can do," the woman replies. "Except wait for her to come back. Speaking of coming back, I thought you were bringing Jake. You seemed confident he'd come back with you. Where is he?"

I finally find the right room. The kitchen. "Right here," I say, not moving from the doorway. "What do you mean she went into the forest?" Why can't I speak any faster than this? It's important.

"When she gets upset, she goes to the forest," a girl about my age answers, looking at me. She's the owner of the voice I heard chastising him. I like her already.

"Figures," I mutter. "Where should I put my stuff?"

"Kurama, can you help him?" she asks.

I frown, and Kurama groans. "When he found out how stupid I was…he's almost as mad at me as Anna is. I'm lucky he hasn't murdered me. And you know which rooms are available better than I do, Shizuru." That's Shizuru? Anna seemed to like her almost as much as she likes Kurama.

She sighs and says, "Come on. You can have the second room Anna stayed in." Second? Meaning she's stayed in more than two rooms since she got here? Well, he did basically tell me they are sharing a room.

Shizuru leads me to a bedroom and says, "You can stay here as long as you need to." My god, she's hot. "You may need to move some of Anna's things out of the closet. She hasn't entirely moved out yet."

"Thanks," I tell her. "Just one thing, Shizuru. Why her second bedroom, if she still isn't completely moved out?"

Shizuru doesn't hesitate. "Jake, you can't have missed the scars. The first bedroom is where that happened. It wouldn't be right to put you there. And I figured you'd want to be close to her. Her room is next door."

I nod. "Thanks." Suddenly the door of the next room over slams.

Shizuru sighs. "That can only mean one thing. Anna's back. And she's pissed."

We exit my room and end up meeting Kurama at the door. He is twisting the doorknob in vain. Anna's locked him out. I can't help but feel slightly vindicated at that. He whispers to me, "No matter how angry she is with me, will you honor our agreement?"

To wait until she's answered before seeing her? I hesitate a moment, then nod. I don't want her to marry him as a thank you. Shizuru and a girl with blue hair go up to the door and Shizuru knocks. From inside, Anna shouts, "Go away, damn it."

"It's me, Anna," Shizuru says. "And Botan."

"It's unlocked."

Shizuru opens the door as though it's nothing. And she and Botan enter, closing the door behind them. Kurama mutters to me, "See what I mean? She was keeping that door shut through the force of her will alone."

Shizuru and Botan emerge from the room. The first thing Shizuru does upon coming out is slap him. "What was that for? You already got me once." Twice since we got here. Good. He deserves it. He deserves a bit more, if you ask me.

"She just finished _packing_, damn it," Shizuru curses.

"Packing?" I can hardly here his voice.

"More accurately _bagging_," Shizuru snaps. "She's going back to the forest with no intention of coming back. Ever." No. That moron ruined her. I am going to kill him.

He pushes past her and once more tries to force open the door. "She won't let me in," he says. "I just want to sort all this out."

Shizuru tests the door. It's locked her out too this time. Damn it. "Anna," she calls, "Let me in." She hisses to him, "The moment she says I can come in, go in. Her aura block will be down." If that's what it takes. But if she ends up getting hurt, I'll kill him.

"Whatever," Anna answers.

Shizuru swings the door open and pushes him inside, pulling it shut after. And we wait. I can hear their voices, but I can't hear precisely what they're saying. I begin pacing back and forth. "I'm going to kill him," I mutter.

"If he doesn't fix this and she leaves, you'll have to fight me for that privilege," Shizuru replies. I stop and stare at her. Anna has good friends.

When am I going to get to see her, damn it? "Shizuru, could you bring Anna's Christmas present in?"

We walk into the room to find Anna frozen in place. She eyes flicker back and forth from me to him. "Anna?"

She doesn't reply. Then Shizuru says, "Kurama's closer, Anna. Jake will understand."

"What?" I ask.

Anna hugs him suddenly. Is that what Shizuru was talking about, who she should hug first? The ring Kurama showed me the other day is on her thumb. I don't know what he said to her, but if he can forgive her… She says, "Thank you so much, Kurama."

Then she flies across the room to hug me. After a few moments I hold her out away from me. Anna. My Anna. "So you're marrying that idiot, then."

"Yes," she says, "But he's not an idiot." I could easily prove that wrong.

"He's marrying someone from the Matthews family," I reply. "He's either an idiot, or he's insane."

"Or both," Shizuru comments. I really like her.

Anna bursts out laughing. He walks up behind her and puts his hands to her waist. "Be careful not to get too familiar, Kurama," she warns, grinning up at him. "My big brother's here to protect my honor, now, remember that."

"We already had a little talk about that, Anna," I assure her. "Don't worry."

Hearing that we've discussed her honor behind her back, Anna turns slightly pink. "You," he suddenly notes, "are cute when you're embarrassed." She hits his arm. That really doesn't surprise me.

But he's right. "I've never thought about it, but he's right, you know." She glares at me.

"You're not going to hit him too?" he asks her. She responds by hitting him again. "Ow."

I just laugh, and Anna responds by hitting my arm. She can hit hard. Maybe we don't need to worry about her. She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. "Ow."

"You two get along too well," she mutters. "It frightens me."

Kurama looks at me, an obvious request for forgiveness in his eyes. I shrug. "If Anna can forgive you, I suppose I can too." I shake his hand. "But the promise is still good."

"Promise?" Anna asks suspiciously. "What promise?"

I glance at her. "Something about intestines and barbeque and happy birds if there isn't any karaoke." We'll just see what she makes of that.

He laughs and Anna looks bewildered. Then he says, "I guess we're even. Apparently we are both cute when we're embarrassed, and we're both cute when we're confused."

I somehow doubt he's ever seen Anna really embarrassed. "Well, if you want to see Anna embarrassed," I start, "there was this time when she was thirteen—"

"Oh no you don't!" Anna shouts. She launches herself at me and we both fall to the ground. Damn, Anna. I can't get my arms around her long enough to flip her over and pin her down.

"When'd you get so strong?" I ask. "Damn, Anna."

"Get over it." She stands and walks to Kurama.

Okay. I'll get over it. "She tripped up a flight of stairs at school. Her books and pencils went everywhere." Anna is already turning red. She moves toward me, but Kurama stops her. "Trying to get away from it, she ran into the nearest classroom, running into the doorframe in the process." I love this story. It makes me laugh every time. "Wait," I tell him as he tries not to laugh, "It gets better. It wasn't actually a classroom but the teachers' lounge. She also forgot to pick up all her stuff. While she was gathering her things, one of her friends asked why she was going upstairs, since her next hour was downstairs."

He finally starts laughing. Shizuru is laughing too. But then Anna threatens, "You just wait, Kurama. You just wait. I will dig something up. Mark my words. Laughing at me will come back to haunt you." She turns to face me. "As for you, I have one word: Kimberly."

Did she have to bring that up?

"What do you mean, dig something up?" he says.

"Someone here is sure to have an embarrassing story about you," she replies. "Or Shiori." Who's Shiori? "And if that fails, mothers have this annoying habit of taking naked baby pictures. I'm sure one of them would be suitable for the invitations to your twenty first birthday party." Anna would do that, too.

"Who's Kimberly?" Shizuru asks. Oh no.

"When Jake was fourteen, there was this girl, Kimberly." I jump up and try to grab her, but she jumps out of the way. "He had a crush on her. One day at lunch, one of his friends dared him to kiss her." She dodges out of the way again, this time hiding behind Kurama. She won't get away that easily. I hate this story. "He did, and she slapped him. Everyone saw it." I grab her and pull her to the ground, but somehow she ends up on top of me again. How does she do that? This time she doesn't get back up, she just continues talking. "Then after school I was teasing him about it. I ran into the girls' bathroom." I guess I'll have to… "No!" she shrieks as I tickle her. "Stop it! It was late, so he thought no one would—quit it!—be there, and he followed me. Kimberly was in the bathroom."

"Question," Shizuru asks. "How frequent is the tackle-wrestle-tickle?"

"Is Maria home?" I ask. Shizuru stares at me, so I explain, "Maria would kill us if she found us wrestling in her house. Mark thinks it's funny, especially when Anna wins. So, when Maria's not there…two or three times a day."

Shizuru shakes her head. "Yusuke and Kuwabara all over again." Who?

"Speaking of," Kurama interrupts, "We need to tell everyone Anna's gone crazy and agreed to marry me."

"Gone?" I question. "Sorry to disappoint, but she was crazy long before she met you." She hits me again. "Ow! No need to hit so hard." Why can't she get up and at least give me a chance to get away?

Anna hops up and says, "And I'm sure neither of them would be too reluctant to give me a story or two."

_And she says take me away  
And take me farther  
Surround me now  
And hold, hold, hold me_

I walk over to Anna's bedroom and knock on the door. She's in there with her bridesmaids getting ready. I need to talk to her. I want to tell her how much I love her before this ceremony starts. No one answers so I open the door.

Before I can do anything Shizuru, Anna and Keiko have all moved across the room and pushed me out so forcefully that I'm slammed up against the door of the room across the hall. What is with them? I return to my room, the room the guys decided to use for dressing. Why am I so nervous? This is Anna's wedding, not my own.

"Girls can be way scarier than risking your life. Especially when you're in love with them," Yusuke is saying as I enter the room. No doubt.

"Tell me about it," I answer. "Even if love isn't involved. Those three in particular."

"Those three?" Kuwabara asks me.

"Anna, Shizuru and Keiko."

Kuwabara nods. "I grew up with Shizuru. Trust me, I know."

"And I grew up with Keiko," Yusuke answers. "What'd you try to do?"

"I just wanted to talk to Anna," I answer, exasperated. "They didn't approve. I knocked on the door and when they didn't answer, I opened it. It took maybe two seconds for them to fly across the room and push me back out. Then they locked the door. Of course…growing up with her, I should have known Anna would react that way."

"So basically," Kurama's younger brother says from the corner, "Shuichi is the only one who doesn't know just what he's getting himself into?"

I nod and burst out laughing at the same time Kuwabara and Yusuke crack up.

**Later…**

I wait with Anna just out of view of all her guests. Her dress is pale green. I… I have never been prouder of anyone in my life. She's less than a year younger than me, but she'll always be my baby sister.

Shizuru looks beautiful too. But Anna is absolutely gorgeous today. After a few moments, we follow them down the aisle. As we do, he watches us, or rather he watches her, a look of awe on his face. A look of wonder. As he should be. He's getting my sister.

We approach the altar and I hug her and kiss her cheek. "I love you, Anna. You don't know how happy it makes me to see you today." I never thought I'd see her again. And if I ever did, my first bet would have been we were identifying a body. I never would have guessed I'd get to see her this radiant.

"Thanks, Jake," she answers. "I love you too." Which makes me very happy.

I step up as Kurama takes her arm, and I whisper to him, "And remember my promise."

He smiles at me and nods. Anna just looks at us with a suspicion that only Anna can manage. Then I walk back to the front row and take my seat. The priest starts speaking, but I don't think they're hearing any of it. They're too lost in each other, staring at each other. Anna is happier right now than I have ever seen her before in my life.

Then the priest asks him, "Do you, Shuichi Kurama Minamino, take Anna to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse, till death do you part?" That is probably pissing Maria off. She has absolutely hated the fact that she can't understand a word of what's being said ninety percent of the time. Of course, that's how Mark, Anna and I always felt when she'd get pissed and start screaming her Spanish at us.

"I do." Then as though he needs to say it again to make everyone believe that the love I can see in his eyes even from here, he repeats, "I do."

The priest turns to Anna. "Do you, Anna, take Shuichi Kurama Minamino to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse, till death do you part?" Only Anna would have insisted on including all three of his names and only one of hers. I grew up with her and I still can't understand her reasons for half the things she does.

"Yes," she answers immediately. "Yes, yes, yes. I do."

Link steps forward and hands them the rings. Kurama takes the small, silver band set with emeralds and slips it onto her thumb. She takes his ring and places it on his thumb as well. Then she whispers something, but I'm too far away to hear it. His lips move in response.

The priest smiles and announces, "Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife." He turns to Kurama and adds, "You may kiss the bride."

He takes her face in his hands and leans in. Almost immediately she pulls away and whispers something to him again. What is she doing? I can't make out his response, but she doesn't say anything else when he kisses her again. When he pulls away, he tells her, "There's no getting away from me now."

"You're the one who should be running," she answers, just loud enough for me to hear. I'd have to agree with that. I'm more worried about him that my sister. At the moment. "But now you're mine, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it."

"Good," he replies, picking her up and running down the aisle and up the stairs into the temple. It's unbelievable how easily he can carry her. She is small, I suppose. I guess what's harder to believe is how strong she is for her size.

And I don't know how long it's been since I've been this happy. Anna is happy. Anna has what's she's always wanted. Anna has someone to call _home_.

_And she says take me away  
And take me farther  
Surround me now  
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water  
Holy water_

* * *

Well... there is how Jake views all the things that happen with Anna. I own Jake & Anna. Now for reviews...

animegrlsteph: I don't remember how the last chapter ended... but thanks anyway?

DarlingAngelthewriter: thanks for the review!

BTW, the song is 'Holy Water' by Big and Rich. And, just for the record, this chapter is 20 pages long. In case you were wondering.


	7. Anna and Kurama Minamino Lights of Home

**The Lights of Home**

_Kurama and Anna's Twentieth Anniversary…_

**Anna POV**

I walk into the kitchen carrying a few bags of groceries. There is a bouquet of roses sitting on the table. Hopeless. Romantic. Even after twenty years. I… I set the groceries down on the ground and go over to the table. There is a note sitting next to the flowers. In his neat handwriting are the words, _A rose for every year, Anna. The day I met you, I wouldn't have thought it would all turn out this way. Especially when you insisted so vehemently that I stay away from you. I love you. Kurama_

I love him. So much. It shouldn't be possible to love someone so much it hurts, but I do. I place the flowers in a vase of water and leave them on the table. As I fix dinner, I can't help but wonder how my hate disappeared. It was like… I left, I went to the forest. And then… I couldn't stay away from him. I didn't trust him, I didn't even like him. But I came back anyway. And he was the reason, I know he was.

He walks up behind me and whispers, "I love you, Anna."

"I love you too," I answer, "in spite of the fact that you're still a hopeless romantic."

"We all have our flaws," he replies. "Except you. You're perfect."

I snort. "Now you're just saying that to irritate me."

He nods. "Perhaps. But you are perfect in at least one way." I look at him, and he answers, "You're perfect for me." He kisses me, and then I continue making dinner.

**A few hours later…**

_Late at night when all the kids are sound asleep  
A man and his wife share a glass of wine  
They talk about the days before the children came  
And how much their lives have changed_

Shizuru finally turns out her light. At last. We're alone. Those three are just… they exhaust me. Two twelve year olds and a fifteen year old. Heh. But they're so much happier than I was at their ages. I was twelve when my mother left us. I was fifteen when Connor broke my heart. Speaking of which, I need to discuss that with Shizuru. I need to tell her to be careful. Men can be such bastards. On the other hand…

He walks up to me, two wine glasses in his hand. He sets them on the table and pours two glasses. "Finally asleep?" he asks.

I nod. "Her light is finally off at the very least."

He sighs and takes a sip of the liquid. "I remember when it was just the two of us. Life seemed so… wonderful back then."

"It seems wonderful now," I reply. Does it not seem that way to him? "I… Am I a good mother, Kurama?"

He looks at me. "Do you love them, Anna?" he asks. I nod. Of course. They're my children. Kurama is the only person I love more than my children. Then he says, "As long as you show them that, as long as you don't let them forget that, you couldn't be a better mother."

I smile. That has always been one of my biggest fears. "You're a good father, Kurama." I know that's what he was thinking. I don't care if he was going to ask or not. He worries about it all the time, and I can see that. But there never seems to be a good time to tell him. There's just one thing… I look down at my wine. "Kurama?"

"Yes, Anna?" he asks.

_And she says, "I know this is not the life you dreamed about  
Before you chose to share your life with me.  
And if you could be anywhere on this earth tonight  
Tell me now, where would that be?"_

"Are you happy?" I ask.

"What do you mean, am I happy?" He sounds genuinely confused. For some reason, I've learned over the past twenty years that I'm the only one who has that effect on him. He can, for the most part, follow everyone else's train of thought. But not mine. I bewilder him, I suppose.

"I know that… You never planned to fall in love," I explain slowly. "You never planned on getting married, settling down, having kids. Sometimes I just wonder… are you happy with what you have now? Or do you wish that you still had your freedom? Do you wish that you had stayed single, like Hiei thought you should?" Not that Hiei followed his own advice; not once he met Leah. He is really kind of stupid. Ah well. "Tell me… If you could be anywhere tonight, where would you be, Kurama?"

"Here." His answer is final and immediate. Is he really that sure? He shakes his head. "Never doubt that I love you, Anna. It may not have been in my plans, but I do not regret a single moment of it. Well, I may regret some of the stupid things I've done, but not the overall experience. Meeting you, falling in love with you… there has been nothing in all my life that has even come close to being as good as my life with you."

_And he says, "Show me the lights of home  
And tell me what could ever shine as bright?  
Only the love that's in your eyes  
Could make me feel the way I feel tonight.  
I'll take the times we've known  
And the lights of home."_

"Kurama…"

He comes around the table and picks me up to slide into the seat, placing me on his lap. "How could you doubt me, Anna?"

"I don't doubt _you_," I reply. "I just don't see how…" How could I deserve him? What did I ever do?

"Anna, you think too harshly of yourself," he whispers. "You may have made mistakes, but there is no one who has not. I have made a very large number of mistakes. All I can say is that I hope I never again make a mistake that makes me hurt you."

I nod and kiss him. "Thank you, Kurama. You… I love you."

He kisses me back. "I love you too. Never forget that."

"I won't, Kurama," I promise. I grin. "What would you do if I told you I prefer bad boy to gentleman, even after twenty years?"

"I would," he says in an almost conspiratorial manner, "whisk you down the hall and lock the bedroom door."

I put my forehead to his, and answer quietly, "Then Kurama… I still prefer bad boy."

He laughs to himself. "Of course you do." He stands, picking me up. Then he carries me down the hall and locks the door as he sets me back on my feet. I put one hand on his chest and the other behind his neck, pulling his down so that I can reach his lips with mine.

**Kurama POV**

I feel her small body beneath my hands. I've noticed that with many couples, over the years the love seems to fade. Or at the very least, the physical attraction seems to fade. With Anna… she's forty one and I'm forty now, but neither has begun to disappear in the slightest.

I pull her onto our bed as she calmly works at the buttons on my shirt. This is so much different than our first time. It isn't a fevered passion of pent up sexual desire. It's much… it's much sweeter. It's… "I love you," I say quietly. How could she ever doubt that?

"I love you too," she answers. "More than anything." She threads her fingers through my hair and kisses me again. I pull her closer and she whispers, "I just don't understand how you can turn me on without even trying."

"Anna," I answer, "I try my hardest. But I understand the feeling exactly." She walks across the room and I just want to…

She laughs as she kisses me. "Funny," she replies, "I try too."

_Later as the night as made a turn toward dawn  
They find themselves still lying in each other's arms.  
Emotions of the moment mixed with memories;  
What has been and what might be._

I hold Anna close as the night moves closer and closer to morning. She shivers, so I pull her closer and tighten the blankets around us. What did I do to deserve such happiness? Nothing. I've often wondered how long this could possibly last. I never did anything to deserve such joy for even a moment, much less for twenty years. And the years that I hope will follow.

She sighs. But I can tell it's a sigh of happiness and contentment. How is it that I can make anyone so happy? I don't understand it. I don't understand how one person's happiness can make me so happy in turn. I don't understand how my happiness can depend so entirely on another person.

"I love you," she sighs again. I don't think there has ever been a single day I haven't heard those words since the day we got married.

Married. She's my wife. That still blows me away. She could have so easily picked someone else. She could have picked anyone. But she chose to trust _me_. She chose to spend her life with _me_.

_And he says, "I know you could have had your choice of men.  
Well, some who could have brought the world to you.  
And even though you can't go back and do it all again,  
If you could, what would you do?"_

Holding her small frame to me, I whisper, "Why did you choose me, Anna?" She rolls over in my arm, and I can see confusion in her eyes. Even after all these years, I still have trouble reading what she's thinking. She must be completely bemused for me to be able to tell so easily that she doesn't understand my question.

"What do you mean, Kurama?"

"Why me?" I ask. "What did I ever do? I… I never listened to you. I often did precisely what you asked me not to do. There are many out there who would have loved you, who would have cared for you. Many who would have taken care of you, who would have listened to your requests more carefully than I ever did."

She smiles. "I chose you _because_ you didn't listen to me. Your love was… Kurama, you never tried to force me into anything I didn't want to do. While you ignored my request to leave me alone, you only kept bugging me because you cared. You only ever did anything because you cared. And I don't think you can compare yourself to anyone else. It's not fair to you or them."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You're underestimating how loved you make me feel," she answers, her brown eyes staring into mine. I can almost feel the love she's feeling. "And it's not fair to them because they could never love me that much."

"If you could go back and do it all over," I ask slowly "what would you do, Anna?"

She stares at me a moment then smiles. Suddenly she starts singing softly, as she often does when she's in a good mood. It's in English this time, but her meaning makes my heart swell. She sings, "_And she says, 'Show me the lights of home  
And tell me what could ever shine as bright?  
Only the love that's in your eyes  
Could make me feel the way I feel tonight.  
I'll take the times we've known  
And the lights of home.'_ I would never take back what we have together, Kurama. Never in a million years. There is no one I would give this up for."

She rests her head against my chest and doesn't say anything. "I love you, Anna," I say again. "So much." I can never let her forget that. She doesn't respond. I listen to her quiet breathing and look at her. She's already asleep. She falls asleep so quickly. She always has. As she sleeps, I sing quietly to her, "_Give me the times we've known, and the lights of home._"

* * *

Well... that's that chapter. Also the last chapter of runaway, since Runaway Train is also finished. This story is dedicated to animegrlsteph, DarlingAngelthewriter, and Angel of Randomosity.

Angel of Randomosity: Thanks so much! I love Jake so much...


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